Political Histories
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
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Political Histories. / Olden-Jørgensen, Sebastian.
The Cambridge Companion to Pufendorf. ed. / Knud Haakonssen; Ian Hunter. Cambridge University Press, 2023. p. 328-361.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Political Histories
AU - Olden-Jørgensen, Sebastian
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Pufendorf is mainly remembered as a natural law philosopher but he was also an influential historian and a public intellectual. Apart from an early phase where his historical interests followed a conventional antiquarian course he focused on recent or contemporary history as evidenced by his popular and much translated, adapted and imitated European History (1680), his acerbic pamphlet History of Popedom (1679), and the monumental ex officio treatments of recent history of Sweden and Brandenburg: History of Gustavus Adolphus and Christina (1686), History of Charles Gustavus (1696) and History of Frederick William (1695). Pufendorf's historical works are informed by a clear and simple vision of states as unified agents acting within a framework of real (moderate) and imaginary (unrealistic), permanent (geopolitical) and temporary (contingent) interests. He combined this vision, informed by his natural law theory, with an abiding interest in diplomacy and decision making and a corresponding disregard for the concrete political players and the action on the battlefield. As royal Swedish and later electoral Brandenburg historiographer he had privileged access to archival sources. He used this to bolster his authority but also to present a firmly streamlined and occasionally biased account in harmony with his religious and political loyalties.
AB - Pufendorf is mainly remembered as a natural law philosopher but he was also an influential historian and a public intellectual. Apart from an early phase where his historical interests followed a conventional antiquarian course he focused on recent or contemporary history as evidenced by his popular and much translated, adapted and imitated European History (1680), his acerbic pamphlet History of Popedom (1679), and the monumental ex officio treatments of recent history of Sweden and Brandenburg: History of Gustavus Adolphus and Christina (1686), History of Charles Gustavus (1696) and History of Frederick William (1695). Pufendorf's historical works are informed by a clear and simple vision of states as unified agents acting within a framework of real (moderate) and imaginary (unrealistic), permanent (geopolitical) and temporary (contingent) interests. He combined this vision, informed by his natural law theory, with an abiding interest in diplomacy and decision making and a corresponding disregard for the concrete political players and the action on the battlefield. As royal Swedish and later electoral Brandenburg historiographer he had privileged access to archival sources. He used this to bolster his authority but also to present a firmly streamlined and occasionally biased account in harmony with his religious and political loyalties.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - naturret
KW - historie
KW - Samuel Pufendorf
KW - Pufendorf
KW - historiografi
KW - Sverige
KW - Brandenborg
KW - Lund
U2 - 10.1017/9781108561006.013
DO - 10.1017/9781108561006.013
M3 - Book chapter
SN - 9781108472692
SP - 328
EP - 361
BT - The Cambridge Companion to Pufendorf
A2 - Haakonssen, Knud
A2 - Hunter, Ian
PB - Cambridge University Press
ER -
ID: 328944362